There will be machine voting in the upcoming elections. Tsvetelina Peneva, chairwoman of the Public Council at the CEC, stated this to the BNR.
She reminded that the procedure for certifying the conformity of the machines has already been completed. This is done to ensure the maximum degree of transparency and that everything that happens with machine voting is well protected, Peneva explained and emphasized that things can always be done even better and gave some recommendations. But this time the procedure took place with a rather large degree of transparency, the chairman of the Public Council pointed out.
She also noted that now the situation is radically different from that of the previous local elections:
"We have enough time for the machines to be installed with the software that was generated. We also have a hash code. There is enough time to organize elections with machine voting".
For the voter, it will not be more complicated than any other election he voted for in previous years, Tsvetelina Peneva was categorical. According to her, the main focus is on explaining to citizens how to use the paper ballot, because in the last local elections the percentage of invalid ballots in some municipalities was disturbingly high. The inability of citizens to use the paper ballot, choosing only a preference without marking a party, leads to a large number of invalid ballots, she specified, and emphasized that there are no invalid ballots with machine voting.
Peneva indicated that machines with demonstration software were sent to the districts so that people could learn how to exercise their right to vote. She urges people to read carefully when voting:
"Everything is made very easy. Things are not complicated and no different from the last local elections. Bulgarians who go to vote have already learned to vote both on paper and with machines, and I hope we will not see this large number of invalid ballots.
If a voter has the right to participate only in the elections for people's representatives, he has the opportunity to exercise his right to vote only with a paper ballot, Tsvetelina Peneva recalled. And he explained this with the fact that the machine allows voting in both types of elections.
According to her, there will be difficulties for the sectional commissions and they will be in the counting of two types of preferences. According to her, this is an action that the members of the sectional commissions have not done before. If the methodological guidelines are followed and work is done strictly, if the work is distributed correctly, the process will not be so complicated, she believes.
Tsvetelina Peneva categorically stated that the Electoral Code has certain shortcomings and changes are needed in it. According to her, the nomination of the members of the sectional commissions should be considered. They are appointed by parliamentaryly represented political forces on a quota basis, she explained, adding that this method is also carried up the ranks. The decisions of both the regional commissions and the CEC are adopted with a majority of 2/3, she gave an example.